Figured you guys were due for an update!
Alright, so the last couple weeks have been interesting for me. After all the previous trouble, I decided that this thing just needed to be torn down, cleaned out, and brought back to "certified pre-owned" status.
So I used the guides on this site (thank goodness for you guys!) to tear half the bike apart, pull off the carb, tear it down, and clean it. Lo, and behold - the jets were completely and totally gunked up - one had what looked like solid carbon buildup totally stopping up a jet to the point you couldn't even tell there was supposed to be a hole there. A few hours with a brush, a rag, and some parts cleaner later, and everything was shiny and new and non-sticky. Putting it back together, though, I wasn't paying enough attention when I went to put the float bowl cover on, and when I pawed at the gasket...I snapped it. Because of course I did. So I decided to put the carb rebuild on hold until I could order a new gasket, but there's other maintenance to be done!
So I decided to change the oil and oil filter while I've got everything all torn apart. I drain the oil, and it's a good thing I did - there was so much fuel in the oil that it was basically just oil-colored gasoline rather than anything resembling oil anymore. No wonder it was running rough! Go to change the filter, and as soon as I get the filter cover off, I'm greeted with a torn O-ring covered in RTV. That's right - the last guy to do an oil change tore the O-ring, and instead of replacing it like he should have, just stuffed it back into the cover and smothered it in RTV. Spent the next few minutes cleaning blue silicone out of everything, and realized I don't have a new O-ring that will fit. Welp, I've already gotta order a gasket, so might as well add this to the list!
Cleaned even more fuel out of the air filter housing, and then waited. Took about a week to get my new parts in the mail, while my poor bike languished in the garage, torn to pieces. But finally they came, and today, after lots of cussing at myself for putting things together out of order, having to take them back apart and then do it correctly, I finally got it all done.
Flipped on the fuel flow, opened up the choke, and...
IT'S ALIIIIIIIVE! I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to adjust the idle, I think I might have it set a little high right now. It took a little coaxing to get it to stay running without the choke open, but after it ran for a few minutes and warmed up and everything got to cycling like it was supposed to, it sounded great (to my untrained, non-ASE-certified ears, anyway), it ran strong, and most importantly...IT DIDN'T DIE! I let it run for a bit (kept it upright and not on the kickstand) and then took it for a couple spins around the block. It ran strong, didn't give me any hesitation on acceleration, and never acted like it wanted to die.
I feel great. This is the first time I've ever pulled apart a bike to this extent, and the first time I've ever disassembled a carburetor, and I feel like I've truly accomplished something. I just wanted to say thanks to all you guys who gave me advice and answered my questions, and thanks to all the folks who wrote the awesome, awesome guides on this site. You're all saints in my book.
Next week, I get it tagged and registered, and I'll get to start (legally) driving it to work for the summer. I'm really excited. Thanks again, everyone!